Have you ever heard of the phrase less is more? This is the exact purpose of becoming a minimalist. Becoming a minimalist with kids is very well possible and has many benefits for your family. In this post we are going to expand on six simple ways you can become a minimalist with kids. Becoming a minimalist do not always happen overnight but you will gradually see the change it has on you and your family for the better.
This post is all about becoming a minimalist with kids.
Can you become a minimalist with children?
You can totally become a minimalist with children. In some ways you kinda had to. Becoming a minimalist was something I intentionally tried to join in on but kinda fell in my hands. As a stay at home mom I quickly needed to adjust my priorities to become more frugal with the things in my home or the things I bought. As a mom living off one income, I had to quickly adjust to minimal because I had no other option. In the process, I learned how much of a good thing it is for me what really matters.
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God. ” 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Being a minimalist doesn’t have to be absolutely extreme. For me, It was too much to continually be cleaning my one-bedroom apartment for three humans and two dogs. It was time to make the switch. I hope to teach my children as they grow the importance of living simply. Becoming a minimalist can be done one step and a time. More like one drawer at a time. 😉
Here are the 6 Simple Ways To Become A Minimalist With Kids
#1. Toy Rotation
Becoming a minimalist with kids to start is by minimizing the shelves and shelves of toys. A researched study concluded that fewer toys are better than an abundant amount of toys for kids, “Fewer toys, it turns out, result in healthier play, and, ultimately, deeper cognitive development.” With this information in mind can consolidate the toys we have for our littles to have quality play time than having an overflowing about of toys that it can be distracting.
A few ways to create value with the toys your children play with are to one, have less toys. Two, create a toy rotation system. Gather all of the toys and place to the side 7-12 toys. These 7-12 toys can vary from electronic toys, creative toys, educational toys, etc. Each of these toys are focused to enhance play time for your children. These toys will be placed out for your children to play with for 1-2 week(or however long you choose to). The other toys will be out of reach and stored away for the next toy rotation.
Your kids will feel as if they received all new toys and will enjoy playing with them. Minimizing to toys will also be helpful to not buy every toy in the store and see which ones will bring value or if the toys will only be something they play with for two weeks and be done with.
#2. Declutter
Clear your space. Simple as that. Only have the essentials on your counter spaces in your kitchen and in your bathroom. One it makes for easy access and makes the space look neat and clean. The kitchen and bathroom are great spots to start your decluttering process. How many kids cups and baby bottles do you really need? Yeah, I am guilty on this one!
Everything must have a specific spot so that when you’re done using it, it goes back to the correct place. This is key to eliminating a clutter space is to put things back after you use them(this is my week spot). Creating this habit is helpful when it comes to cleaning up messes saving you time and energy.
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#3. Prioritize
Becoming a minimalist with kids is to prioritize and create value with the things you already have. We live in a world where we are over-consumed with information, products, busyness, and an endless amount of things. It can be overwhelming to take in all the things of the world. To slowly becoming minimal is to prioritize the object and things that you actually need and desire then temporal satisfaction.
In some areas to cut back and prioritize are of course the items of the home that you are no longer using. Along with the task and time you have throughout the week. We need to evaluate the time we has moms are spending on day doing. Are you overwhelmed with endless piles of laundry, constantly refolding clothes or blankets that get messed up? Some of these things we can cut back to spend more time enjoying our kids than always feeling like you need to stop and clean something. When you have kids we know it is going to be messy. But we can minimize the mess with less things.
Prioritize your activities. Of course, we want our kids to get involved in activities because they develop life skills by playing sports, through music classes, and being involved in groups. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to have your kids involved in everything. It is just as important to take a step back and rest from time to time. Don’t worry it wont be forever but it is beneficial to spending bonding time with your kids as they learn to rest then go, go, go, all the time.
#4. Create A Budget
Creating a budget will be a HUGE perspective change. I could probably write a whole other blog post on this topic, but for now, I will just write the staples of building a budget if you will. Creating a budget will help shift your perspective of telling your money where to go instead of hoping you have enough. It gives you permission to spend money in certain places. When you think about the things you buy is it bringing you stress or freedom. In a way are you spending simply or above your means.
Once we actually budgeted we were able to see where we were spending that did not make sense or bring value to our lives. I started to notice I was taking a few too many trips to Target for one thing and ended up spending $30 almost every time. Yikes! Setting a budget on how much you and your spouse can spend on each category will give you a visual of where and how you want to spend you money or save for.
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#5. Donating and Giving
I challenge you to walk through your closet, your kid’s closet, and every place in your home with two trash bag!! This is an incredible start of getting rid of clothes that are taking up space. Especially for your littles. We all no they grow so fast including out of there clothes. Store the items for kids you will have in the future or get rid of the ones that are too worn.
You might find this too challenging to get rid of some items because they may hold on to them for memories. Hold on to some, only some, items of sentimental value and reevaluate them at another time.
Donate items to a local charity or if some ideas could be a treasure for a friend that you would like to give. This is a good way to teach your children the value of giving and not holding on to material things.
#6. Find Value in Quality
When minimizing it doesn’t mean you are never going to buy things again. Your perspective might change once you have grown in the staples of minimalism. Instead of buying products just because they are on sale. Now with you perspective shifted you may choose where you want to invest in quality than quantity. This can be in small and large purchases. Finding value in quality can be evaluated through your day to day not just with purchasing products.
Find value in yourself as God’s masterpiece. As God’s masterpiece, we should treat our time to be of high quality.
Bible Verses on Minimalism
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.- 1 Timothy 6:7-8.
Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.- Ecclesiastes 5:10.
I pray you found this post helpful to you as you in your motherhood journey toward minimalism with kids. I would love to hear you response as you create a comfortable simple life with your family. Let me know you read this post by sharing on the Mamma Mia Greens Instagram page. This post is all about minimalism with kids.
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